A foundational 1956 study of the concept, focussed on a U.F.O. doomsday cult, has been all but debunked by new research.

MOST OF US have experienced conflicting beliefs at one time or another. For instance, you know that drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health, but you pour yourself a second glass of wine ...

Conversation among us is peppered with observations of the division within the American population. The division is revealed in a number of forms. It may be the acknowledgement of the political gap ...

Cognitive dissonance is what happens when a person holds two sets of beliefs at odds with each other. The human brain doesn’t like logical inconsistencies, so someone experiencing cognitive dissonance ...

We are seeing the latest example of the scary power of the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance to distort our thinking. Though I am outraged at the harm done by misinformation — death threats to ...

After Mass on Sunday, our priest took a moment to relay a message from our bishop regarding the upcoming off-year elections here in Virginia. The Church, of course, goes to great lengths to avoid ...

Once upon a time, the words we used had dependable and agreed-upon meanings. Words describing people, events, beliefs, acts, and other experiences were either facts and truths or fictions and ...

You've been presented with two viable options for a new career. The first option is what you've always wanted—the role sounds like a perfect fit. But the second option comes with higher pay and better ...

It was a great time at the Rose Bowl Friday – to watch the Bruins pretty much own No. 15 Washington. The score of 40-32 wasn’t indicative of just how dominant of a win it was – because UCLA’s prevent ...

Imagine a healthcare provider who has been prescribing a treatment for 15 years with good results, and then a new study shows that this treatment might not be as effective as previously thought, or ...